Red Faction  Marauder
by E. Shadows
Summary: The story of the Marauder Takath, and his adventures on Mars.


Red Faction: Marauder

Chapter One

Takath wiped the sand from his goggles and pushed on through the wasteland that was called the Badlands. The dust flying in the wind obscured his vision so much that he could only see about 10 feet in front of him. He had been walking for three days through the sandstorm, with no sign of shelter or the rest of his search party. They had been looking for a large group of their brothers that had gone missing two days earlier. The sandstorm hit when they were in the middle of the Badlands, left with no food, no water and no way of sending a message to the rest of the clan. The group was separated slowly, Vetax had fallen behind and lost his way, Ka'de had died of starvation and Xulix had gone his own way not two hours earlier, and so Takath was left alone to brave the Badlands. An EDF gunship flew overhead, but he doubted the pilot would notice him through the wild sandstorm. It disappeared as quickly as it had came. Takath sat down and rested against a rock as Phobos and Deimos rose over the horizon and the sun set. He quickly fell asleep, exhausted from walking all day.

He awoke and noticed that the sandstorm had passed, making it easier for him to find his way. However it was still night time due to Mars' long days and nights. He looked around but didn't see anything of importance, just more rocks and sand. He saw a large hill in the distance and decided that he would have a better view of his surroundings from the top. He climbed to the top and took in his surroundings. He saw Mount Vogel sticking up over the horizon, and a nearby road that he recognized. Takath again set out to find his way back to the Marauder Stronghold.

Not even thirty minutes after he began walking, an EDF scout car came racing down the road towards him, pursuing what appeared to be a civilian vehicle. However, looks can be deceiving, a man with popped his head out the window and aimed a gauss rifle at the scout car, he fired and hit the gunner in the chest. Blood splattered across the top of the car, and the body of the unlucky EDF soldier fell off of the vehicle onto the ground. Takath had no weapons but a crude spear, and so he searched for a place to hide. With nothing in sight, he hoped that the two would be too involved in their battle to notice him. He darted to the side of the road and went prone to observe the combat. The scout car sped up and rammed into the back of the van, shaking the driver and passenger. The man in the passengers seat again stuck out his gun and fired off three more shots, to no avail. The EDF soldier in the passengers side of the scout car stuck a rail driver out the window and fired at the wheel of the van. It burst off and the driver struggled to keep control, it veered off the side of the road and nearly ran over Takath.

The vehicle came to a rest about thirty yards away. "_Good, they still haven't noticed me"_ he thought. The scout car drove over to the wrecked van to investigate and found that the man was still alive. He jumped out of the side of the van and hid behind it. _They're going to kill him, _mercy was not the way of the Marauders, nor did he care for the man. But Mars needed the EDF gone, and the way he saw it, the Red Faction was doing a pretty good job of getting rid of them. So he raised his spear and ran at the EDF soldiers by surprise, he stabbed one through the head, sending blood all over his partners helmet. His vision blocked, he began randomly firing his pistol in the hopes of hitting something. The man came out from behind the van and fired three shots through the soldiers heart.

The drone fell to the ground and the man promptly aimed his weapon at Takath. "You! You're one of those savages they call marauders aren't you?" Takath laid his spear on the ground and raised his arms to show he meant no harm. "Why aren't you trying to kill me?" the man lowered his gun. Takath wondered if he should speak, the outsiders thought the marauders to be unintelligent, primitive savages. _If I don't speak, I may die. This man may be my only hope for survival. _"I- We are not the monsters you think we are." Takath said. "You can speak English?" asked the man, surprised. "Yes, we all can." "Why haven't any of you spoken before?" "We like to maintain the reputation of savages, it makes you ignore us." "I see, why are you out here alone, don't you usually travel in packs?" "I was separated from my party in the sandstorm. Do you have any food or water? I haven't had either in three days." Takath felt wrong asking the man for help, but desperate times call for desperate measures. "I don't, but one of these guys might." He pointed at the dead soldiers with the tip of his gun. "Good, I assume you'll be leaving now?" asked Takath. "Yeah. And good luck, by the way." the man said as he got into the scout car. "Do me a favor, don't tell anyone that we spoke." Takath said. "You have my word." the man said before driving off into the distance.

Takath searched through the pouches of the dead EDF, and found some field rations and small canteens of water. He drank a bit and ate a few bites of bread, then set off again. After a few hours the sun began to rise over the horizon. He knew his surroundings now, the entrance to a small Marauder outpost was close. He entered a small gulch, the one that contained the hidden entrance to the base. He walked through and was greeted by weapons aimed at him. (For the purpose of easy reading, the Marauders speaking will not be in Marauder, but in English.) "Greetings brother, why have you come?" asked the guard as he lowered his shotgun. "I was separated from my party during the sandstorm, do you know the way to the stronghold?" Takath asked. "Yes, we can get you a ride there when the next runner party leaves to get supplies" said the guard. "In the meantime, you may rest here." "You have my thanks, brother" said Takath as he headed into the settlement.

The Marauders had ramshackle architecture, constructed from scrap metal and bits and pieces of things salvaged from the Badlands. The same was true about their weapons and vehicles, however they were built well, and could withstand battle. Takath saw some other Marauders unloading a truck full of supplies. "You there! You must be the one we're taking to the stronghold, right?" called a Marauder that was putting a crate full of food into the back of the truck. This Marauder was odd, he wore a strange device on his chest that pulsated with an orange glow. "Yes, that's me."said Takath. "We're about ready to go, come help us finish loading this thing up!" he yelled. Takath loaded up the rest of the truck with the strange Marauder. "What's that thing on your chest?" Takath asked. "I was wondering when you'd ask."said the Marauder. "My heart was damaged when I was shot in the chest by EDF soldiers, this thing keeps it pumping by sending an electrical pulse every few seconds. The name's Korax, by the way." "Right, I'm Takath... We should get going" Takath got in the truck with Korax and a few other Marauders.

They pulled out of the settlement and began driving towards the Marauder stronghold. "So what's your story? How'd you end up alone in the middle of the Badlands?" Korax asked. "My party was separated during the sandstorm. I'm the only one that survived." Takath answered. "Friends of yours?" asked another Marauder in the truck. "Yeah, they should have died with honor, in battle! Instead they were killed by hunger!" Takath growled. "Well, at least they will be remembered." said Korax. "Yeah right. None of us will be remembered, not even the great Vasha herself. We're slowly dying, and I'm sure the EDF will stop at nothing to make sure the population doesn't find out that we aren't savage beasts." Takath said angrily. "I guess you're right. I hear word that the Red Faction managed to liberate Parker from the EDF though, that's a start at getting them off of Mars. Supposedly some guy named Mason has been doing wonders for the revolution." another Marauder said. "We're passing through the irradiated zone now, get ready." said Korax. Warning signs dotted the road, telling them to turn back, but they knew where they were going. Within minutes the stronghold was in sight.

They pulled in and came to a rest beside the supply depot, and began loading up the truck with more supplies for the outpost. Takath left them and headed towards the door to Vasha's palace. There was a large meeting going on, Vasha was speaking at the head of the group, Takath only heard the end of the speech. "... and we will take the Badlands for ourselves!" The marauders cheered, "What's going on?" Takath asked a marauder at the back of the group. "We're launching an assault on the EDF base in this sector, after this day we'll be free!"


End file.
